06/15/2015    William Deutsch, DPM

RE: Is it Legal to be Charged for an EMR I Purchased After I Stop Using It (Elliot Udell, DPM)

If the sole function of government were problem
solving, there would only be one voice heard,
no need for a legislative or judicial branch.
The purpose of government in a democracy is to
offer the illusion that citizens also have a
voice in decision-making. But it's just an
illusion.

There is no reason to assume that solutions
offered by government are wise, efficient or
competent. In the realm of healthcare overhaul
the purpose was simply to get more people
covered by a bloated, inefficient system.

Part of the process of 'participatory'
government is also to plant seeds of economic
growth. This EMR industry is an example. Like
all start up industries the failure rate would
be high initially and victims would be fleeced
by predatory salesmen offering a product they
probably didn't understand or knew they
couldn't sustain.

Government evidently has no interest insuring
the successful incorporation of EHR into
medical practices. It simply demands the
eventual universal use of EHR. And it's using
our mythic cultural phenomenon of 'American
Exceptionalism' to get there. Throw as many
companies out there, one or two are sure to
stick.

The medical profession was swept away by this
tsunami of change. There was almost no unified
resistance. Everyone was simply assessing how
these changes would affect their individual
practice, their lifestyle. The entire concept
of the solo practitioner was almost eradicated
overnight.

No one has yet made a concrete suggestion to
adopt a universal EMR. The VA has been using
their version for years but it wasn't offered
as the gold standard.

In its wisdom the government offered incentives
to get physicians to adopt EHR. As many doctors
are now learning, the strings attached are
onerous and probably many doctors are convinced
there will be clawbacks.

The Ronald Reagan quote; 'the most terrifying
words in the English language are: I'm from the
government and I'm here to help,' seems to be
prescient.

William Deutsch, DPM, Valley Stream, NY

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